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“This is smooth, not at all fishy, and has some pleasant "river rock" mineral notes. The first steep made my throat feel somewhat dry. The second steep was darker and had a slight...”
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“This tasted weirdly like roasted beets to me. Very earthy, almost dirt-like, and slightly sweet. It was strange. Not good, not bad. Just strange. I’ve never had a tea that made me think of...”
Read full tasting note

From Red Blossom Tea Company

Originating from the Nannuo Mountain in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, our Nannuo Shan 1997 is a shou pu-erh that we acquired from a tea merchant in Hong Kong in 1999. The tea spent a year in that fairly humid environment before we took possession of it. Since then, it has been sitting in its original containers in San Francisco.

The trek from Yunnan to Hong Kong to San Francisco is important, because we believe those climate shifts leave impressions on the tea: a humid environment accelerates fermentation and change, but risks turning the tea one dimensional, whereas San Francisco’s drier environment produces a tea with more complexity.

This tea reflects its years. Both longer aging and a kick-start in Hong Kong creates a rich, smooth tea with notes of plum and earth, while complete dry storage under our oversight creates a finish with complexity and interest.

4 Tasting Notes

This is smooth, not at all fishy, and has some pleasant “river rock” mineral notes. The first steep made my throat feel somewhat dry. The second steep was darker and had a slight sweetness. There’s also a bit of a saltiness to it as well. Ok. My mind is going blank. That’s all I’ve got!

Preparation

This tasted weirdly like roasted beets to me. Very earthy, almost dirt-like, and slightly sweet. It was strange. Not good, not bad. Just strange. I’ve never had a tea that made me think of beets before—but why not, if there are teas that taste like squash and sweet potato and spinach (and, according to the flavors dropdown, bok choy and green bell peppers)? This was an interesting one to try, for sure. Thanks for the sample, CharlotteZero!